The Pirate Bay appeal that was originally set to take place next month has reportedly been pushed back to summer 2010.

A Swedish court announced today it had delayed the appeal until next year, according to The Local.

The appeal launched by the four men found guilty of being accessories to breaching copyright laws in The Pirate Bay versus entertainment industry trial in April this year, was expected to kick off on 13 November.

However, the Sve Court of Appeal has pushed back hearings until next summer, amidst bias accusations that have emerged against two of the judges set to rule on the case.

Those allegations could be heard by Sweden’s Supreme Court, reckons The Local. All of which could mean the appeals hearing might not happen until next summer, when the four TPB men - Carl Lundström, Gottfrid Svartholm Warg, Fredrik Neij and Peter Sunde - will attempt to overthrow the guilty verdict.

“If you consider that we originally tried to hold the hearings in August and finally succeeded in getting them booked for November following a number of difficulties, and considering that the Supreme Court will likely issue a ruling in February or March, there is still a possibility that the hearings could take place just before summer,” appeal court judge Ulrika Ihrfelt told the Dagens Nyheter newspaper.

Ihrfelt was one of the judges accused of bias due to her alleged ties with pro-copyright groups. Appeals court chief judge Kristina Boutz was the other person fingered by attorneys acting for TPB’s defendants in the case.

The appeal has effectively been postponed to give the high court more time to review the case. In April the defendants were handed stiff sentences of one year each and ordered to stump up a total of $3.6m in damages to the entertainment industry. ®